The iPhone Highlights The Difference Between Invention And Innovation
from the which-is-more-important dept
For many years, we've been talking about the important difference between invention and innovation -- and how invention is given too much credit, while innovation is given too little. Invention is the practice of coming up with something new. Innovation, however, is delivering something new to a market that wants it. In other words, innovation is figuring out how to take something new and actually bring it to market successfully. In the grand scheme of things, it's not hard to see why innovation should be more important than invention -- since it's really innovation that helps drive progress and make things better for people. An invention without the corresponding innovation is somewhat useless. Unfortunately, though, the patent system is much more focused on rewarding invention, rather than innovation (and, it often hinders innovation by making it more expensive).Over at Computerworld, Mike Elgan has written up a great piece highlighting how the iPhone is a fantastic piece of innovation that really has very little new in it. As we pointed out when we questioned Apple's claim to 200 patents around the iPhone, the multi-touch interface isn't new and has been publicly demonstrated numerous times. Elgan points to that video as well as other examples of how almost all of the "new" things in the iPhone have actually been around for quite some time -- but that what's special about the iPhone is that it will really be the first time that such features and tools are available to the general public, and how it's then likely to move those same features from research labs into all sorts of common computing applications. That's great for everyone -- but it's about innovation, not invention, and it seems like the market can do a great job rewarding such innovation without resorting to patent-based monopolies.
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I'm not even sure...
If it can't be built or implemented, I don't think it should be patentable. I've always thought that a patent application should include more than just a diagram of how something "should" work, but also some proof that (a) it will work somewhat as planned, and (b) proof that the inventor plans to do something with it (similar to filing a Declaration of Use for a Trademark). Such rules are already in place for "perpetual motion" machines:
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My Patent
With that said, I've just applied for a patent for theoretical software that scours the intenet and removes stupid blog comments that complain about nonsensical crap.
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Patents ads
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What makes the iPhone an innovation is the use of ease. The fact that the programs flow with each other and are built on each other, not just 10 random programs that might or might not conflict with one and other.
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Dictionary?
Of course the name of the game is sell as many as quick as you can, because once people get a hold of these things and realize that if they listen to music or use any of the other features on their phone they will find little or no battery left for actually making phone calls this won't be a hot item anymore.
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I-phone not really innovation either
But to argue the battery life. For all it can do I think it has decent battery life, and my battery is really easy to change so I can just carry a spare battery if needed. So if the iphone has an accessible battery I wouldn't worry about battery life.
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Re: Dictionary?
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Re: Patents ads
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Innovation is more or less just knowing how to market a product as best as possible - and there are a lot of resources out there to help in that effort.
However, coming up with a truly novel and non-obvious idea/invention is far more difficult, especially with the lack of resources to aid in doing so. That is why invention is given much more credit then innovation.
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Re:
I disagree strongly. Actually being able to bring a product to market in a successful way is enormously difficult. If you look at all the great "inventors" you know about these days, most of them were actually innovators rather than inventors What they were able to do, however, was bring to market a product people wanted. It's not nearly as easy as you claim.
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We're Apple, we can do whatever we want
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Re:
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Re: We're Apple, we can do whatever we want
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Re: My Patent
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absurd
One relies upon the other. They should be equally rewarded.
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You said "Actually being able to bring a product to market in a successful way is enormously difficult."
Now you are contradicting yourself!
In previous discussions related to the monopoly power of patents, you consistently voiced your opinion that giving an inventor a monopoly was not needed because there are ample resources available to help an inventor bring his product to market successfully (i.e. "if an inventor needs money, there are plenty of capital venture firm to give it to him", etc.).
So, which is your real opinion:
1) That bringing an invention to the market is *NOT* "enormously difficult" because there are ample resources available to assist an inventor in doing so.
or
2) That it *IS* "enormously difficult" to bring a product to the market, so the exclusivity/monopoly protection that a patent provides will significantly help an inventor because it removes the "competition" factor from the other typical difficulties that bringing a product to market involves.
You can't have it both ways ;)
(p.s. please don't reply with "neither" and then go off on some convoluted tangent to save face - because whatever you try to say, it has to boil down to one of the above two opinions or else it's probably not related to this point and would then be a meaningless response)
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One I remember had something to do with the space shuttle and its transport train. The width of it is based on train tracks which themselves were based on roman chariot tracks. The roman chariots were built to accomodate the width of two horses asses.
Surely, we humans can't take credit for the invention of horses asses but some of us have certainly (through innovation) perfected the art of being a horses ass.
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Can you clear up your contradiction for us?
1) That bringing an invention to the market is *NOT* "enormously difficult" because there are ample resources available to assist an inventor in doing so, so there is NO need for a patent to provide a monopoly/exclusivity power to the inventor.
or
2) That it *IS* "enormously difficult" to bring a product to the market, so the exclusivity/monopoly protection that a patent provides CAN significantly help an inventor because it removes the "competition" factor from the other "enormously difficult" issues of bringing a product to market involves.
(p.s. please don't reply with "neither" and then go off on some convoluted tangent to save face - because whatever you try to say, it has to boil down to one of the above two opinions or else it's probably not related to this contradiction of yours, and would then be a meaningless response)
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http://www.iphone-converter.org/
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make iphone ringtone
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